


heureux

by currahees



Category: Band of Brothers
Genre: Canon Era, M/M, Post War, Softness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-01
Updated: 2019-06-01
Packaged: 2020-04-06 03:43:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19054558
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/currahees/pseuds/currahees
Summary: the one in which babe and gene are recovering together, slowly and peacefully.





	heureux

**Author's Note:**

> this idea came from peachycompany over on tumblr and this post by them:  
> does the whole fandom just agree that after the war gene and babe get a tiny little house that they paint either yellow or white right on the bayou with a big front porch and a garden?? and gene cooks gumbo and crawfish and teaches babe french even though he’s hopeless at it and babe teaches gene how to make a cheesesteak and they just sit out on the porch watching the fireflies under the cypress trees and their tomatoes grow and they love each other a lot. maybe they get a dog, or a skinny tabby cat because it reminds gene of babe and they just recover together in peace.  
> (sorry for the bad french translations, i used google translate!)

You could see their house from a mile away, the fresh yellow paint proudly adorning the old wood. The front porch still needed a fresh repaint, Gene wanted blue but Babe wanted green, they’d find time to paint it in their future (and finally agree on a colour too).

Babe wakes up to the sun shining through the curtains, reminding him it was another day. Another morning where he was safe, Gene was safe, they were home and miles away from Bastogne and the War and everything evil. He rolls over and expects to find Gene asleep next to him but the bed is empty. He must have already woken up. Dragging himself from their soft bed covers, he walks to the kitchen. Already the day is warm and muggy and he knows it’ll be another night where him and Gene fall back into bed in nothing but their boxers, the warm air sticking to their bodies.

“Morning  _mon cheri_ ,” Gene smiles, sitting at their table with the newspaper in his hand and a cup of coffee in the other. Babe walks over and kisses him on the forehead softly, before making himself a cup. “ _Comment vas-tu_?” He asks, putting the paper down to look at his beautiful, sleepy boyfriend.

Babe blinks a few times, his brain barely registering English this morning let alone French. “Um, _bien_?” He tries, gauging Gene’s reaction.

“ _Je suis heureux d'entendre_ ,” Gene replies. At this Babe is totally lost and Gene can tell. He chuckles softly, before translating. “I’m glad to hear that.”

“How are you?” Babe asks, sipping his coffee. He knew Gene only woke up before him when he had nightmares. Otherwise he slept in, almost longer than himself.

“’M okay, you know how it is,” Gene mumbles, looking down. Babe knows all too well. The nightmares haven’t stopped even though they’ve been home for years. The blood stained hands and white turned red snow, the screaming and echoes of gunshots. They plagued their dreams more often than they cared to admit.

“You should have woken me,” Babe softly mumbles. He’d rather be awake with Gene, especially after his nightmares. Gene smiles back using the smile only Babe ever got to see. The one where his lips were ever so slightly turned up at the corners and there was a small twinkle in his eyes. It was Babe’s favourite smile.

They sit in comfortable silence for a while, Gene reads the paper and Babe eats breakfast. The harsh sun was cascading through their kitchen window and Babe could see the small particles of dust dancing around the room, the sunlight almost staining the hardwood floors. Wordlessly he takes his and Gene's empty cups and washes them quickly, before returning to the table. He grabs the newspaper now that Gene was done with it but only reads the sports section and the comics, he doesn't care for the rest. The world was still a messed up place, he didn't need a newspaper to tell him that.

"I'm thinking of making my Ma's gumbo for lunch?" Gene says out loud, more of a question than a statement.

Babe smirks and looks up at him, "Remember, I'm a Philly boy. Don't make it too spicy, please."

Gene grins back. "Of course not. Although it was funny the first time you had some and went bright red. Your freckles all came out, it was kinda cute."

"Cute for you, I felt like my tongue was going to explode," Babe replies. "And I don't have that many freckles," he quickly adds.

Gene spots an opportunity at this. "Oh yeah?" He asks, slowly walking towards him. Placing himself in Babe's lap he wraps his hands around the back of his neck. Starting with the freckles on his nose, he places a soft kiss along his skin, everywhere there was a freckle. Moving across his face and down his neck, he stops just near his shoulders.

"I think you missed some," Babe hums, his eyes closed and head leaning against Gene.

" _Mon amour_ , we have the rest of our lives for me to kiss them all," Gene mumbles back, tenderly kissing his soft lips.

After breakfast Babe begins picking out the ripe fruits and vegetables from their small garden while Gene prepares the food. The backdoor is open and every so often one of them will walk to the other to talk senseless nonsense, to just hear the other one's voice.

Behind their house sits a few Cypress trees that thicken into a small bayou. Once the two of them returned back to America after the war it was decided that they needed a place away from the noise and the people. The soft chirp of the crickets and gently breeze that blew through the trees gave Babe a small break from the heat and was a comfort to him. For a couple of hours he collects the tomatoes, amongst other various plants they have, listening to the soft sounds of the nature around him. Sometimes this was all they did. Sit in the sun and snack on apples and drink lemonade all day until the stars came out and they counted the constellations.

Gene joins him and together they plant a few of the seeds they got last time they were in town. Their hands are covered in soil and dirt but Gene thinks it's better than the alternative, the blood that used to soak his hands and dry under his fingernails that he could never get rid of. He wakes after nightmares and his mind plays tricks on him, he'll look down and see the same blood from years ago stained to his skin. But then Babe wakes up and gently takes his hands in his own and kisses them, cleansing him of the blood.

That night, after they eat Gene's gumbo that thankfully wasn't too spicy for Babe, they're back outside. The sun was setting slowly in the distance and with the moon came the fireflies. They have two chairs on their porch and both of them are occupied. Babe's hand is holding Gene's as they sit together, the day slipping away. He's happy. He's safe. He's with Gene. He knows the nightmares will come and sometimes the sight of tomato juice will send a panic through his system because of it's striking similarity to the blood that was all too present in his life years ago. But he also knows that Gene will be there. To hold him, to whisper French into his ear and although Babe's still learning the language it calms him. And Gene knows that Babe will always be there, grinning and bright eyes with a laugh that makes him breathless. It's something beyond words, it's something only they can feel. It's home.

**Author's Note:**

> Not a representation of the real men, this work is based off the portrayals in the HBO mini series. No disrespect intended towards the real war veterans.  
> Not edited.  
> Find me on Tumblr, my username is speirtons.


End file.
